You are here

The striker Liverpool will play to take the strain off Suarez and Borini

talkSPORT's Talent Spotter gives you the essential info on a young striker Liverpool who could …

THE NITTY GRITTY
Name: Adam MorganPosition: Striker (left-footed)Club: LiverpoolDate of birth: 21 April 1994 (18 at time of writing)Place of birth: Liverpool

NEED TO KNOW

Achievements so far: Morgan's form and attitude have earned him a call up to Liverpool's first team, as well as international honours. He scored 21 goals for Liverpool's Academy side in 2010/11, as the Reds finished runners up to Everton in their division, as well as three goals in four games in the 2011 FA Youth Cup. This form earned Morgan a call up to the reserves, a couple of weeks before his 17th birthday, when he duly scored against Bolton on his debut. The Liverpool youngster was selected by England U17s for their 2011 European and World Championship campaigns, in which he played nine matches, scoring against Canada. He continued his good form in the 2011/12 season, playing for England's U19s and Liverpool's reserves, scoring in wins over Chelsea and Bolton, as well as netting a brace against Everton in the under-18s mini-derby. In total, he scored 13 goals in 21 games for Liverpool's under-18s, including three strikes in the NextGen Series. Morgan scored his first senior goal for the Reds against Toronto on their 2012 pre-season tour and made his competitive debut as a sub in the first leg of Liverpool's Europa League tie against Hearts, before starting the return at Anfield in a wide left role, lasting an hour after having a goal disallowed.

International honours: Four friendly appearances for England U19s (one goal), 17 appearances for England U17s, including three at the World Championship (one goal) and four at the European Championship.

FIVE FACTS
1) Morgan scored in 13 consecutive games for Liverpool's Academy and reserve teams in 2010/11, including his debut reserves goal against Bolton and one in the U18s 6-0 win over Manchester United.2) According to the young man himself, he once scored over 80 goals in one season for the club's U10s.3) Morgan scored a crucial brace against Norwegian club Molde in a 3-0 win at Anfield in late September in the NextGen Series, a junior Champions League-style competition for U19 teams, to help the Reds qualify from their group. He was on target again as Liverpool beat Marseille in the third-place play-off.4) As a local boy, and being a left-footed striker at Liverpool, it's perhaps no surprise that Morgan's hero is Robbie Fowler. "I've made no secret of the fact that I grew up worshipping Robbie Fowler," says Morgan. "I actually had a chat with him one afternoon [at the Liverpool Academy]... He asked me a question and I just started stuttering. I couldn't believe I was speaking to the player I grew up idolising."5) Morgan signed a new contract in July 2011, keeping him at Liverpool until June 2014.

WHAT'S BEEN SAID
He says: "The experience [on Liverpool's pre-season tour] has been great. I want to thank the manager and his backroom staff for trusting me to come in and come to pre-season in America. I've loved every minute from start to finish and that [his goal] just topped it off."

They say: "He's technically good. He's got a natural eye for goal - he's got that natural instinct to score, but I was also pleased with the cleverness in his pressing [against Toronto]. He pressed the ball really well. That forced them into some mistakes." Brendan Rodgers on Liverpool's 2012 North American tour

"I've likened him [Morgan] to John Aldridge more than anyone else I've seen. When balls come into the box he seems to be there. He's predatory and that's what you've got to be as a striker.… There's other things to his game, too; he's got two good feet, his workrate is pretty good, he'll run the channels for you and close people down… It's probably too early [to promote Morgan to the first team] right now, but we could do worse than throwing him into the team and giving him a chance." Former Liverpool defender and title winner Gary Gillespie